The Pokemon Company has celebrated thePokemonfranchise’s 25th anniversary in a variety of ways this year. So far, celebrations have included new game reveals likePokemon Brilliant Diamond,Shining Pearl, andLegends: Arceus, a McDonald’s Happy Meal promotion which sent fans into a craze forPokemoncards, an all-virtual concert featuring popular musical artist Post Malone, and more.
Last month, The Pokemon Company revealedthePokemon CelebrationsTCG collection,including an all-new Elite Trainer Box, special 4-cardPokemon Celebrationsbooster packs, new foil cards, and more. The new set will feature callbacks to older types ofPokemoncards like Dark, Prime, and Lv. X cards. Now, some new 25th anniversary cards featuring none other than the franchise’s mascot Pikachu have been revealed.
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In addition to the previously-revealedPokemon Celebrationscollection, a special25th Anniversary Collectionset will release in Japan. The set will feature 7 new Pikachu cards, including a full-art remake of the originalBase SetPikachu card redrawn by its original artist Mitsuhiro Arita. The set will also feature Surfing Pikachu V, Flying Pikachu V, and an all-newPikachu V Union card.
Surfing Pikachu VMAX and Flying Pikachu VMAX also join the special set, along with a new Pikachu V card. In celebration ofPokemon’s 25th anniversary, the new Pikachu V Union card art features 25 Pikachu all drawn by different artists in their own unique styles. Keen-eyed fans have also noticed that the new Surfing Pikachu VMAX and Flying Pikachu VMAX cards feature the same toy boat and toy plane seen inGarbodor’s Gigantamax formas first introduced inPokemon SwordandShield. Fans have also noticed that the new full-artBase SetPikachu art now also features Caterpie, Butterfree, Oddish, and Parasect hidden in the forest.
The originalBase SetPikachu card has had a history of changing Pikachu’s cheek colors between red and yellow, but it looks like the new full-art card will feature Pikachu with red cheeks as it is most commonly seen. The25th Anniversary Collectionset will launch on October 22 in Japan, though it is currently unknown whether this particular set will make its way over to the rest of the world.
In Pokemon Center stores across Japan, fans who purchase 4 booster packs of the25th Anniversary Collectionset will receive special25th Anniversary Editionpromo packs featuring reprints of old cards like Birthday Pikachu andBase SetVenusaur. While these new 25th anniversaryPokemoncards are certainly a neat celebration, it will be interesting to see ifrecent trading card scalping trendswill affect these new cards.
